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Book 945: Rediscovered (Do-Over #2) – E.M. Denning

When this landed in my inbox, it was a case do I really want to continue the series, is it really going to be the end of the world if I just let it go?* I didn’t feel super strong in either direction after reading Rearranged.

I sort of wanted more information about what went down between Rowan, the first book’s protagonist, and Harrison, this book’s, parents because it wasn’t given due justice in the first book and it received even less play in this one unless you count Harrison being fired and Rowan quitting after the main drama of this book.

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Book 936: Café con Lychee – Emery Lee

What another wonderful juxtaposition from Dream Boy with so much light and happiness and just pure wholesome queer joy, I’ve really been putting myself through an emotional rollercoaster these last couple of weeks. Seriously, emotional whiplash is not fun and thankfully I can work from home where tearing up on my lunch break is totally acceptable.

I requested a copy of Café con Lychee because 1) I love lychee, like seriously on everything and lychee candy is the best—I say “LIE-chee” not “LEE-chee”; 2) to BIPOC protagonists which YA Lit is a lot better about than MM Romance; and 3) New England.*

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Book 935: Dream Boy – Jim Grimsley

Bare with me for a moment as I go on a tangent. Recently, I’ve been obsessed with re-watching the Netflix adaptation of Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper series and I  couldn’t realize why other than it’s a fantastic series and adaptation, but then I read this book and it all clicked into place: queer joy.

Growing up in the 1990s/early-2000s I’d say 85%+ of all depictions of LGBT characters were tragic or left to interpretation and this is a prime example of that. Having the opportunity to watch Charlie and Nick in Heartstopper as they discover happiness and joy, even with setbacks, mental health issues, and added TV drama, is just such a wonderful feeling of relief and joy that I float along every time I watch it or listen to the soundtrack or think about it. And this is in stark contrast to Roy and Nathan, the protagonists of Grimsley’s second foray into the novel.

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Book 933: Hope on the Rocks (Rainbow Cove #4) – Annabeth Albert

Whenever I get a chance to throw in something from Annabeth Albert’s back catalog, I usually do. I’m slowly making my way through it and this was the last book in her Rainbow Cove series.

I like to think that this series and her Portland Heat series are in a shared universe, I mean they’re only so far apart on the Oregon coast. Rainbow Cove is definitely kinkier than Portland Heat, but they both have their moments.

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Book 931: Book Boyfriend – Kris Ripper

After this landed in my inbox as part of a larger round-up of upcoming releases by Carina/Harlequin releases I jumped to request it.* Who doesn’t want to read a book about books and falling in love around the publication of a book?! It’s basically catnip for book bloggers 😀

Unfortunately, the premise was better in my head than the execution in reality. That’s not saying Ripper didn’t have two wonderful characters and a decent story, it just was a struggle to get into and stay engaged with until the very end.

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